Hoop.



B. E. G. NOBLE.

HOOP.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-21, 1914.

1 199,595 Patented Sept. 26, 1916.

F f H A 3 1 Q L A 13 BION E. G'. NOBLE, 0F BALDWIN, MAINE.

noon.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 26, 1916.

Application filed August 21, 1914. Serial No. 857,962.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, Bron E. G. NOBLE, citizenof the United States, residing at Baldwin, in the county of Cumberlandand State of Maine, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin-Hoops, ofwhich the following is a specification.

- This invention relates to improvements in metal hoops and moreparticularly to means for uniting the ends thereof.

It is common at the present time to make hoops provided with atongue-receiving opening in one end and a shouldered tongue on the otherend adapted to be inserted into said opening and locked therein bybringing said shoulders on said tongue into engagement with the bottomof said opening, but up to the present time no means has been devisedthat does not require that at least one-half of the hoop be removed onone or both ends so that thereby the hoop can have not exceedingone-half of its normal strength.

The object of the-present invention is to accomplish the same lockingresult with a much less weakening of the hoop. Figure 1 isa plan View ofa blank from which my improved hoop may be made by permanentlyseparating the parts adjacent the tongue-receiving opening. Fig. 2 is aplan view of my improved hoop whether made from the blank shown in Fig.l, by

, D having shoulders E formed by reentrant less than one-half the'widthof the ribbon,

separating the parts adjacent the opening or from a blank having anenlarged end in which the tongue-receiving opening 1sformed withoutseparating the sides adjacent the opening, and Fig. 3 is a detail insideplan showing the ends interlocked.

Same reference characters indicate like parts in the several figures.

In said drawing A is a ribbon of metal from which the hoop is made. Asshown at Fig. 1., one end is provided with a tongue outs, which combinedare less than onefhalf the width of the ribbon, and the other end isprovided with a tongue seat C, the sides about said opening beingtogether equal to more than one half the width of the ribbon. In Fig. 1the seat is formed. by removing and the shouldered tongue is formed byremoving less than one-half of the width of the ribbon. The sides of theribbon adjacent the opening are then permanently separated laterally,preferably by the die which makes the opening, a sufiicient distance topermit the seat to receive the shoulder of of the hoop is impaired to amuch less extent than in the old way. The same result is attained byenlarging the end of the ribbon which is provided with the opening. Inthis case the blank has the normal contour shown in Fig. 2 and the sidesadjacent the opening are not forced apart, but the opening is formedfull size in the enlarged end of the hoop.

It will be observed that the hoop is provided, at the outer broader endof the opening B with a slot G which extends outwardly from and.communicates with said opening. This slot G is in efl'ect a longitudinalextension of the opening so that the latter is rendered suflicientlylong to' allow a the sides to be spread apart to widen the the sides ofthe band to be substantially an;

altered.

Having described my said invention and its uses, I claim:

A blank for a hoop of the class described having a tongue at one endhaving notches in the opposite sides forming shoulders at the inner endof the tongue, said hoop blank being provided at a point near but spacedfrom the opposite end with an opening midway between the sidesof saidend portion, said opening having inwardly converging sides and said hoopblank being also provided with a slot extending outwardly from,communicating with the widened portion of, and forming a longitudinalextension of said opening, said opening being sufiiciently long so thatwhen the same is extended laterally to receive the tongue, the metalupon either side of'said opening will be of substantially the samecross-sectional area as in the blank.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

BION E. G. NOBLE. Witnesses:

CHARLES L. Fos'rnn, ELGIN O. VERRILL.

